The state of the art discloses various methods and devices with which articles can be inserted into packaging units. Ultimately, the articles that have been inserted into the packaging units reach another packaging or picking machine in which the articles are already combined to form the various shipments to the customers.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,032,788 discloses a multi-rail transport system for printed circuit boards. The system has a first shuttle and a second shuttle that can be moved along the rails. The shuttles are configured in such a way that they can move essentially parallel to each other along the first and second longitudinal axes. The shuttles themselves can selectively engage with the rails.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,586,638 discloses a conveying system comprising several lines for printed circuit boards of various sizes. The printed circuit boards are transported within and/or between automatic electronic components on pairs of rails. Here, too, the shuttles are configured in such a way that they can selectively engage with the appropriate rails and can execute the transport movement along the rails.
U.S. Patent Appln. No. 2006/0254886 A1 discloses a conveying system for articles. The conveying system comprises a conveyor belt that can be moved by a transport chain. The surface of the conveyor belt has a plurality of conveyor plates that are arranged adjacent to each other and that are configured to carry the articles. Each of the plates is independent and can be detachably attached to the transport chain.
German patent application DE 40 28 207 A1 discloses a transport system for the textile industry. The transport system, in which carrier elements that can be moved independently of each other by coupling parts with slanted, circulating conveyor belts, comprises several transport lines. The coupling parts are switched on and off by switching members that can be actuated through a relative motion of the switching member and the carrier element when the carrier elements reach stops that extend into the transport path of the carrier elements. The carrier elements each have an adapter for connecting a handling part configured for purposes of handling the product that is to be transported.
European patent application EP 1 749 750 A1 discloses a packaging machine for processing shuttles that hold individual portions. For this purpose, a shuttle transport system with conveyor belts is provided. A shuttle control system, an ejection station for incomplete shuttles and a correction station for incomplete shuttles are likewise provided.
European patent EP 0 856 465 B1 discloses a reverse tray transport for picker lines. In this method, a picker line places individual products into containers that hold a certain number of individual products. The individual products and the containers are not transported in a parallel flow. The arrival in the working area of the picker of the next container that is to be filled is regulated. The individual products are transported there irregularly or unordered. During the processing of the individual products, the speed of the arrival of the individual products, the transport speed of the containers and/or the working speed of the pickers are regulated in such a way that the containers leaving the working area of the last picker are exactly completely filled with the products in question.